long bore i need to head home. >> he might be the next one moving back home. tom foreman, cnn, washington. >> that does it for this edition of "360." thanks for watching. "early start" begins right now. that does it for this edition of "360." thanks for watching. "early start" begins right now. happening right now, the decision on bail for oscar pistorius will happen just hours from now. will the olympian accused of killing his model girlfriend be free freed on bail? shootout on the las vegas strip. police this morning on the hunt for the gunmen who left three dead in a hail of bullets and a fiery crash in front of some really terrified tourists. going nowhere. national guard troops searching for stranded drivers in the midwest. snow, sleet, freezing rain could spell dangerous driving conditions for a massive portion

of the country. look at that. >> wow! >> good morning. i'm christine romans in for john berman today. >> i'm zoraida sam bbowlin. it is friday, february 22nd. we have learned that at 7:30 this morning, oscar pistorius will learn the decision in his bail hearing. pistorius claims he mistakenly shot his girlfriend, reeva steenkamp, believing she was an intruder. robin kurnow has been outside the courthouse. what can you tell us? >> reporter: i can confirm we are expecting a decision by about 7:30 a eastern time. we'll bring that to you live on cnn n terms of what's happening now, the defense has been responding to the prosecution's

final argument. essentially they're maintaining that oscar pistorius shouldn't be charged with murder, that it should be culpable homicide. that it's not a murder charge, yet on the other hand his intention was to kill. even if he didn't know it was reeva, the fact was that he intended to shoot, to fire, to kill. on the other hand, again, the defense saying, listen, he shot blindly. that in itself is an indication that he did not intend to kill, that it was just a panic kind of reaction. either way, this has been such a dramatic case. of course, worry waiting anxiously to hear which way the magistrate has decided to go on this issue. >> another big issue, robyn, was whether or not he was a flight risk. have they talked about that? >> reporter: absolutely. there have been some sort of quite strange exchanges in the court over whether or not he's a flight risk. of course, that's one of the bail conditions.

can they release him on bail? and is there a concern he's going to sort of leave the country, flee? the defense has been arguing this is a man who has prosthetic legs. he needs special medical treatment. he's also a very well-known famous athlete. where is he going to hide? how is he essentially going to skulk out of the country? at the same time the prosecution says it's possible. look at julian assange. he is a well-known person. it's that kind of debate that's going on. slightly potential arguments coming from both sides. this is not about whether or not oscar pistorius is going to escape the country or whether he's a danger to society. this is about the state really, essentially, doing a shrewd legal trick by pushing for this premeditative murder charge they forced the defense to show their cards.

they put an affidavit out. his version is now on table, giving the state's prosecution months and months and months before a trial to prepare their case around his description of events that is already put on the table. >> one other thing i want to talk about were the bombshell developments yesterday, former legal investigator being charged now with seven counts of attempted murder. i've been following all the tweets that have been coming out that have courtroom, a play by play, talking about how this investigation was handled that may have been botched in certain circumstances. the investigation, has it been compromised in any way? >> reporter: well, i think it depends who you talk to. if you talk to oscar pistorius' lawyers they are going to argue in that final trial that there were compromises to the investigation. just think about it. they managed to get this investigating officer to admit that he probably contaminated the scene by not wearing protective shoes. he admitted on the record that he found that there were no inconsistencies in oscar

pistorius' version of events, which goes against his very own prosecution's angle. there are a number of really interesting statements made by this prosecutor that i'm sure the defense team is going to pick on to try to pick apart the state's case. in terms of the state, they now have one of south africa's top detectives on this. and just how that impacts the efficiency and the success of the case and how this is all processed, of course, that might also impact oscar pistorius. it appears someone far more -- i don't know, apt at doing his detective work than the previous incumbent. it will be interesting how it plays out in court. at a trial that is possibly eight months away, maybe more. >> we are expecting a decision from the magistrate on the bail for pistorius at 7:30 eastern time. is that correct? around. >> reporter: yes. that's in about -- yes, 2 1/2 hours time. >> robyn curnow, we'll check

back in with you. we will talk with allison leotta, author and former federal prosecutor about the case. a massive winter storm spanning 20 states, bringing everything to a halt on streets, highways and, of course, airport s. passengers on this united airlines flight had to wait an hour and a half in the airplane on the tarmac as crews tried to dig them out. the driver losing control of the bus and slamming, ouch, right into the light pole. we've got this extreme weather for you. erin, you've been there when the snow first started to fall and when it stopped and now comes the cleanup. >> reporter: well, and right now, today, it's a lot colder here this morning than it was yesterday. it's about 14 degrees. we hope our fingers don't freeze

off. if you can see behind me, they're already starting to dig out. we've got that. now the national guard is patroling for stranded motorists throughout the state. wichita, where we are now, got a near record snowfall, 14.2". their record is 15.2". so, most of the states, schools are still closed today. although the airports are now open, starting to dig out there, too. believe it or not, what they're calling the blizzard of oz here in kansas is a welcomed development for a lot of residents. i spoke to one yesterday, kristen woodburn. here she is. >> it snows so infrequently here now, we've been in a really bad drought for several years. really, really hot temperatures in the summer and just no moisture. so, we're thrilled to see snow, ice, whatever moisture we can get. >> reporter: this is the third straight year of drought in kansas. the department of agriculture expects it to continue into april.

the state needs between two and seven inches of rain to ease the drought. it takes about 10 inches of snow to equal one inch of rain. an official told me yesterday it's bringing some welcomed moisture but not yet enough. some residents are still just happy to see snow. we talked to some yesterday who were sledding. here is one of them. >> we don't get a lot of snow. most of the time it's ice and rain and stuff like that. so, everybody forgets about it and how much fun it is. >> reporter: what do you think of the snow? >> i love it. >> reporter: why? >> because it's so deep and you get to sled and this is our first time sledding in the whole entire year. >> reporter: still very icy here. i'm sure we'll see a lot more of that today, christine. >> erin mcpike in wichita, thanks. this storm is enormous. millions of americans are dealing with storm warnings, watches or advisories this morning. let's get to jennifer delga

tchtdelgatto in the storm center. where is it headed next? >> look at all the snow it dumped in these locations, 18" of snowfall. that is nashville, kansas, not nashville, tennessee. in kansas city, they picked up 9.2 inches of snowfall. you can still see it for areas like nebraska, minnesota and into wisconsin. chicago, you've picked up about .81 inches of snowfall. that's welcomed but still not a lot. looking at a wintry mix from this last storm system, bringing some of that through to west virginia, ohio, and down through the south our other story is going to be flooding. we'll talk more about that flooding over the next couple of days. see these numbers up towards areas like in minnesota, three inches of snow. down toward regions like tennessee, even into georgia, we're going to see potentially three to six inches of rainfall. you see a line of storms moving

through and this is going to continue to pile up. and this means worry going to be dealing with a flood threat over the next couple of days. there's also a chance for some winter weather to move through parts of the northeast. it looks like some new watches and advisories were just issued. it looks like in some locations we could pick up about six inches of snowfall. some locations may be even a foot. we'll talk more about that. >> i suspect we'll be talking about travel problems as well. jennifer delgado, appreciate it. the health of venezuelan president, hugo chavez, being treated for what's being called a respiratory insfishs. the spokesman says it's a result of his recent cancer surgery. the type of cancer he's battling has not been revealed. drew peterson's lawyers say they will appeal his 38-year prison sentence. a judge handed down the punishment to peterson yesterday

for his conviction in the 2004 murder of his third wife, kathleen savio. the deference argued that savio's death was an accident, that she fell in her bathtub, hit her head and drowned. >> i don't think there's anybody that has any doubt in this universe that we proved beyond all doubt that kathleen savio was murdered. accident is off the table. >> savio's death was initially rule ruled an accident. the case was reopened in 2008 after the disappearance of peterson's fourth wife, stacey, who is still missing. he screamed out in court yesterday "i did not kill kathleen" right before he was sentenced. savio's sister shouted right back "yes, you did. you liar." an american tourist, sierra in turkey. they're searching for a man known only as ziya t.

the body of sierra, a new york mom on solo vacation was found earlier this month near agent stone walls in istanbul. recalling 38,000 pounds of pork sausage because plastic bits have been found in the meat. the recalled products include one-pound packages of gwaltney, i think it is, g-w-a-l-t-n-e-y. with a use by date of march 12g9. they were sold in 11 states and in washington, d.c. are you familiar with that brand? >> i am not but certainly will check. latest on the wild gun battle and cash krar car crash on the strip as tourists were looking on. navy s.e.a.l. missing in the pacific. the latest on that when we come back. ♪ [ male announcer ] it was designed

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good morning. welcome back to "early start." police are on the hunt for a gunman that killed three people in a shootout that ended with a fiery crash right on the las vegas strip. this happened yesterday close to the flamingo resort. rapper known as kenny clutch. facebook pictures and youtube music videos. what police say happened. >> horrific nature. this horrib fiery end to this horrible accident. a city not easily shocked. >> the lights and whole thing. but i mean, i don't believe it still. this is actually happening sfwlr police say it started at 4:30 am. someone in the black range rover with dealer plates fired,

causing this to go out of control. smashed into this car but hard to tell, that is a taxi cab. it burst into flames. the driver and passenger trapped inside died. >> investigate iing the engineeg and mechanics of that vehicle to determine why it exploded and why it caught on fire immediately. >> reporter: still on loose, the black range rover with dealer plates acres common vehicle here. police warning citizens the occupants are armed and dangerous. >> what happened on the strip today will not be tolerated. these individuals will be found. they will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. >> reporter: authorities say that taxi exploded because of the sheer force that have mazeratti hitting it. they also say there's a search for that black range rover.

taxi c i driver is now identified, michael boldon. his brother fighting back tear, saying whoever did this needs to pay. >> my life mission would be to see them punished and brought to justice for the thing that they did. they don't know who they touched. boldon moved to las vegas a year ago to find work. breaking news from south africa. we now know we'll get a decision on bail for oscar pistorius just over two hours from now. 7:30 eastern time we're expecting the bail decision. it's now in its fourth day. he is charged with the p premeditated murder of his girlfrie girlfriend. pistorius claims he mistook her for an intruder. 60 million people, snow blanketing the plains states. causing a mess on the highways.

the kansas city bus trying to negotiate a left turn. look at that. ooh! it fishtailed and took out that light pole. wichita now digging out from 14.2 inches of snow. >> rescue crews in hawaii are trying to find a 34-year-old navy s.e.a.l. diver who got separated from his unit tuesday during open water training exercise off oahu. trying to figure out where the currents may have taken him. former first lady laura bush has asked a group who supports same-sex marriage asked the group to remove her image. >> none of us would be wo want to be told we can't marry the person we love. that's why a growing majority of americans. >> couples are committed. they ought to have, i think, the same sort of rights that everyone has. >> so mrs. bush made those comments in a cnn interview in 2010, but a spokeswoman says the former first lady did not

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[ male announcer ] glucerna hunger smart. a smart way to help manage hunger and diabetes. welcome back to "early start," minding your business this morning. largest two-day loss this year. worries about consumers. disappointing economic data on jobless claims in housing spooked investors yesterday. chances of hitting an all-time high will have to wait until next week. the dow is 283 points away from that. >> in tech news, tablets and smart phones are had ot and pc maker hult packard is still cold. sales fell in almost every unit last year and beat wall street's super low expectations. hp's turn around will not be linear, the ceo says, and there's no plans to cut down.

the company unveiled the chrome book pixel yesterday. it features touch screen technology, enhanced cloud computing and built-in cellular network. wi-fi only models start at $1,300. the pixel is available for purchase now. this is a big step for google. previous chrome bok goes for about $250. this move expands its hardware business taking aim at apple and microsoft. we're looking for a bigger rebound in futures but had a bad couple of days in stocks this week. we'll see if it can bounce back. 25 minutes past the hour, no west for the snow weary today. it's a huge storm, burying much of the midwest. we'll have a lot more coming up. you can watch us any time on your desktop, your mobile phone. go to cnn.com/tv.

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breaking news. a ruling now just a couple of hours away. cnn crews at the courthouse. will a judge free olympic icon and accused murderer oscar pistorius on bail? a winter storm still pumm pummeling a huge swath of country this morning. record snow in parts of the midwest. national guard troops sent to look for all the stranded cars. hair-raising rescue for three army para troopers who jumped from a plane only to get hung up in towering trees. >> oh, no. >> welcome back to early -- if you thought you had a tough day

on the job, right? i'm christine romans. >> and i'm zoraida sambolin. in just two hours we will hear the decision from a south african judge whether accused murderer oscar pistorius will be granted bail. the ruling is expected to come down at 7:30 eastern this morning. the prosecution and defense have been making final arguments in the fourth day of pistorius' bail hearing. is he charged with premeditated murder in the shooting death of his girlfriend, reeva steenkamp on valentine's day. he claims his mistook his girlfriend from an intruder. robyn curnow is live at the courthouse in pretoria. they've been going at this for four days, deciding whether or not he will get out of jail on bail. what are the sticking points this morning, still? >> reporter: hi, there. both arguments have been wrapped up. there's a real sense from the defense that they really want to push this as a culpable

homicide. they say this morning in court that oscar was firing blindly. on the other hand the state seemed to be quite confident that they have a strong enough case against him. the big question, of course, is whether this sort of bombshell that was dropped yesterday, whether that lead investigator found to be also facing attempted murder charges has some sort of impact on the case. on one hand, some people are arguing that that was just an embarrassing -- it was an embarrassment, that it's a credibility issue, that this lead investigator who was eventually removed isn't really going to impact on that final trial. on the other hand, does his testimony in this bail hearing punch holes in the prosecution's case? now the police commissioner, the national police commissioner has come out and had to say this about the investigator who is facing attempted murder charges. >> whether he performed poorly or excellently, it is a court that will tell us tomorrow. a lot of the issues that you are

raising about whether there was contamination in all those aspects, we answer those questions in court. he is a very good investigator and porter did his job. and he's got 22 years of experience. and i think he presented the case of the police well in cour court. >> reporter: okay, there. well, what does this mean for the whole case? a case that's seen so many twists and turns, quite bizarre at times. in terms of oscar pistorius, the man known as the blade runner, how did he look today? according to our cnn producer inside the court, he looked withdrawn, he looked isolated, he looked emotionless, drained. i also hear from other sources that he's very tired. he's been having trouble sleeping. we said all along that he has been very emotional at times.

the last day or two, he seems to have sort of withdrawn into his shell. yesterday when i was in court, sitting motionless. we understand he's under extreme stress, no doubt. his coach spoke to cnn earlier on, his running coach and he said if he gets bail he's going to have him out on the track training, he thinks it will help him clear his head. we'll hear the decision on the bail at 7:30 am eastern. robyn curnow, thank you. author of the upcoming "speak of the devil" and a former federal prosecutor who has handled dc's toughest cases. she joins us from washington this morning. good morning. given the facts you've seen so far, should he be granted bail while he awaits trial? >> well, it's going to be up to the magistrate. and there's been such a side show with the investigator. really, what the judge is going to have to look at is is it

likely that he did it but also is he going to escape, try to flee? does he present a danger to the community if he is let go on bail? that's a tough case. the prosecution has put forward evidence that it has, but that's a tough road to hoe for them. >> you talk about the distraction of this lead investigator. just an incredible turn in what has been a tumultuous few days in this case. is it -- because it is not a jury system there, but it is a judge, is it just that, a distraction? do you think the judge will be swayed at all by this controversy? >> it definitely changes the tenor of it. instead of presenting this sweek squeaky clean investigator that the judge can rely on everything he said, it just throws everything into question. that said, the judge is trying to get into right now is whats going on in oscar pistorius' head, both now, will he try to flee if he is let go and also before, four nights ago or seven nights ago when this happened,

what was he thinking? was he thinking this was an intruder or was he really thinking that this was his girlfriend? he's just going to try to take the evidence that he's got, these bits and pieces, whether there was urine in her bladder, whether the prosthetic legs were on, the angle of the bullets to try to get to that one question of what was oscar pistorius thinking on february 14th. >> and that, of course, is what a whole trial will be based on. in a way it's almost as if this bail proceeding has been a mini trial. the amount of evidence that's been presented, knocked down and brought back up. is it usual to see a bail hearing with so many twists and turns? >> no, absolutely not. the fact that there is this whole bota issue is enormous. i think if you wrote it in a novel, it would not be believable. you couldn't suspend your disbelief this much. it would only happen in real life. i've never seen a case where a police officer is put on the stand and while he's testifying, in the midst of his testimony it's revealed that attempted

murder charges are pending against him. it's shocking. >> you just heard from the south african national police officer defending his testimony saying, look, 22 years. he is a good investigator. he gave our case correctly on the stand. again, it's just a judge. it's not a jury. maybe this controversy would have more impact on a jury and less on a judge. >> that's possible. the bail decision will only be up to the judge. that said, obviously, it does not look good for the prosecution. at this point, i think that hilton bota was the greatest present that oscar pistorius could be given. >> upcoming book "speak of the devil" coming out this year. thank you so much. tune in tonight at 10:00 eastern for an "a.c. 360" special "blade run runner."

this huge system is headed to the great lakes, expected to drop three to five inches in the chicago area. here are the stats so far. millions of people, over 20 states, are being impacted by this massive winter blast. the storm system covers about 750,000 square miles. record snow has fallen in the plains states. and that means a lot of slick and icy roads out there. >> we saw a car that had hit a tree and so i put on my blinkers and was going to pull off the side of the road to make sure nobody was injured and the gentleman in front of me, due to the ice, hit me from behind. >> when it's all said and done, this system will have left snow and ice from the mexican border all the way to new england. >> president obama, reaching out to republican congressional leaders with forced budget cuts looming. the white house says the president spoke to house speaker boehner and mitch mcconnell on the phone yesterday. not saying much beyond that.

$85 million defense cuts kick in march 1 unless they strike a debt reduction deal. joe biden says political survival must take a backseat to our children's survival. the advice presses spoke at a conference on gun control in danbury, connecticut, yesterday, a short distance from the scene of december's sandy hook elementary school massacre. he warned lawmakers there's a moral price to pay for inaction. >> people say, and you read, and people write about the political risk and why they're unacceptable to take on. i say it's unacceptable not to take this on. it's simply unacceptable. >> the vice president also went on to say no law-abiding citizen should fear their constitutional rights will be jeopardized by tougher gun control laws. three army paratroopers left dangling in washington state when their cords got tangled in

the trees. apparently heavy winds blew them off course. rescuers had to climb up and get them. no one was hurt. that is a terrifying -- >> good news nobody got hurt there. be careful what you said to your kids. they may take you literally, right? charmaine rosario found that out the hard way. she was trying to get her 10-year-old son, danny, to go to bed wednesday night when he pitched a fit. >> he got really mad at me and he's like, you're mean! i'm going to call the cops. and i said, go ahead. call the cops. >> you guessed it. that is exactly what danny did. when the 911 operator answered, the little guy hung up. so, the dispatcher called back. >> hello? >> hi, this is 911. somebody just called from there. >> yeah. it was my son. my 10-year-old son. >> oh, my goodness. 911 operator sent an officer to the home just to be sure that everybody was okay.

when he got there, danny had no issue with going to bed. we're told he hid under the covers and was simply too scared to come out. moral of the story. i was going to say call the cops so that your kid can go to bed but, no, bad idea. >> bad idea. the most nominated man alive in the movies. meet the oscar's music man, composer john williams, nominated again this year for "lincoln." plus an exclusive. the carter who won the election for obama, piers morgan with the former president, talking about his grandson's role in the 2012 race. we're back after this quick break. it's chevy truck month! silverado was also recognized for the lowest cost of ownership. hey, what are you gonna do with it? end table. oh. [ male announcer ] it's chevy truck month. now get 0% financing for 60 months, plus trade up to get $1,750 total allowance on a silverado all-star edition. or trade up and choose customer cash

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welcome back to "early start." he is oscar's real-life music man. composer john williams is nominated yet again this year for his work with long-time collaborator steven spielberg in

"lincoln," breaking a record that williams set at last year's oscars. we sat down with him to talk about his lemg endry career. >> reporter: superman, indiana jones, harry potter. you don't even have to see them, you know their music. >> 48 nominations is a hard thing to get one's mind around, i think. because i think things like how could anybody be that old. >> reporter: oscar is a very old friend to 81-year-old williams. they've had a courtship since the 1970s. >> what made it a good tool for me in the film was that the two notes could be played note, note or note, note, note, note. very fast, very soft or very loud, in your face. >> two notes in "jaws," five

notes in "close encounters." >> those five notes. >> reporter: an outer space where williams soared. "star wars" the best selling film score of all time and still celebrated in live performances. >> a wonderful sight at the end to turn around and see them all waving these light sabers. you couldn't plan t you couldn't say i'm going to write something today that 30 years from now people will be celebrating in some fashion. impossible. >> reporter: the five-time oscar winner credits hard work and the fortune of a good friend, 40-year partnership with steven spielberg that persevered even when williams felt he couldn't match the director's work in "shindler's list." >> you asked spielberg to find somebody else. >> i said to him, stephen, this is a great film.

you really need a better composer for this film and he sweetly said, yes, i know, but they're all dead. >> reporter: how do you keep the energy, the creative juices going? >> it's better to keep your eye not on the finish line so much. better to keep your eye on what's right in front of you in the moment. >> reporter: a life philosophy that keeps him creating those cinematic moments. kyung lah, los angeles. soledad will be in los angeles monday beginning at 7:00 am eastern right here on cnn. don't forget cnn's red carpet oscar special, "the road to gold" sunday night beginning at 6:00 eastern. former president jimmy carter says he's a proud grandfather because his grandson, james carter, had a role in uncovering that famous

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welcome back to "early start." following some breaking news for you now. we'll know whether the magistrate in south africa will allow oscar pistorius to go free on bail. the court just adjourned.

pistorius is charged with the premeditated murder of his girlfriend, reeva steenkamp. the olympic runner's coach says if he gets bail, he expects to have him resume training next week. massive winter storm system blanketing the plains states. schools, highways, airports closed due to record snow in some parts of kansas and missouri. the storm is making its way to the great lakes today. illinois, wisconsin and michigan could see heavy snow before the system arrives in the northeast. that is scheduled for saturday. we're hearing for the first time from the woman who trained christopher dorner to be an l.a. cop and gave the tip that led police to hunt for him. theresa evans said she had a feeling that dorner killed the police captain's daughter and fiance. she said it was a hunch and a long shot but felt it was payback for him being fired. dorner eventually was killed after a shootout and fire in big

bear, california. boeing meets with faa officials to lay out the company's plan to fix its dream liner jets. the entire fleet of 787s is ground because of battery problems that ignited at least two fires inside the plane. boeing hopes to get those planes back in the air by april. only 50 dreamliners were in service. but boeing has orders for hundreds more and they are coming off the assembly line as we speak. >> a lot of problems there. big bird is back in the political spotlight after being a target of the 2012 presidential campaign, remember that, when mitt romney said he would cut pbs funding? the big guy is teaming up with first lady michelle obama to mark her third anniversary of the let's move campaign. encouraging kids to exercise and eat right. brand new formula that's shaking up the music charts, the harlem shake, now topping music charts. ♪ this is for real this time.

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welcome back. 56 minutes after the hour, taking a look at the top cnn trends. >> streaming youtube videos is fa factorsed into the charts rankings. right away the viral smash "harlem shake" guys are dancing in the studio, shot to the number one spot. >> the song was originally released last june but sales didn't take off until last week's online dance craze. since then, its digital sales are up more than 1,000%. bet you love that, christine. by the way, this is not the original "harlem shake" that

dance which you see here first became popular in the 1990s thanks to rapper g. def and p. diddy. there it is. can you do that? >> no. i absolutely cannot. america's got talent has a new judge, former sassy spice girl mel b will replace sharon osbourne. she will join howard stern as acts compete for the $1 million prize. head to cnn.com/trends to check out our other trends. late-night, guys took on celebrity wine, the oscars. >> i heard that playboy is coming out with its first iphone app later this year. or as your girlfriend put it, hey, why is your iphone locked now? pretty cool app. it's called words with boobs. >> an interesting contest going

on in the best actress comedy. the stars of the movie "beasts of the southern wild," quvenzhane wallis is only 9, which makes your kid's role in her play seem less impressive, right? she said if she doesn't win she's threatening to die during the broadcast, the oldest nominee. producing a new wine from their french estate, putting their names on the labels. they're not the first celebrities to do this. lindsay lohan put her name on a vodka bottle but it was with a sharpy so no one else would drink from it. >> mean. "early start" continues right now.

>> we learned a big ruling on bail for oscar pistorius is coming in 90 minutes. will he be freed on bail? shootout on the vegas strip. police on the hunt for the gunman who left three dead in a hail of bullets and a fiery crash in front of really terrified tourists. national guard troops searching for stranded drivers in the midwest. snow, sleet and freezing rain could spell dangerous driving conditions for a huge part of the country today. be careful. good morning. welcome to early start. i'm christine romans in for john berman this morning. >> and i'm zoraida sambolin. decision day in the oscar pistorius murder case. we're set to learn in about an hour and a half whether the olympian will get bail. his hearing, which has played out like a trial, has wrapped up. he is charged with the

premeditated murder of his girlfriend, reeva steenkamp. prosecutors say they are concerned pistorius will flee if released on bail. live at the courthouse in pretoria, south africa, robyn curnow. >> reporter: we're all standing outside the court and producer inside the court, all anxiously awaiting this announcement by the magistrate. he made an announcement -- he understood the severity of the decision he was making, whether he would send oscar back to holding cells or sending him home. how has this case played out over the past four days? it's been very interesting. twists and turns on all levels, highly emotional, quite tra mat uk for both families and in the middle of the announcement that the lead vest quittor was himself facing seven charges of attempted murder. sort of an astounding bombshell

that dropped yesterday and in terms of police commissioner and the way the south african authorities are handling this, they say one cop's testimony, one cop's decision to shoot at a minibus full of taxis has no bearing on this case. this is what she had to say. >> whether he performed excellently or not, a court will tell us tomorrow. a lot of issues you are raising when there was contamination, we answer those questions in court. botha is a good investigator and he did his job, and he's got 22 years of experience, and i think he presented the case of the police well in court. >> reporter: okay. well, a new investigator has been appointed to the case. one of south africa's top

detectives. throughout this case, i've taken copious amounts of notes. you can see minute book here, it was full up. and i was browsing through it earlier, trying to get a sense of what i thought. two lines i want to note. oscar pistorius saying i didn't intend to kill my girlfriend. but the prosecutor said we have a woman in the early hours of the morning locked herself in the toilet. why? why did she die? what was the motive? what happened early on valentine's morning? all of the questions won't be answered now. we wait and see if oscar pistorius will be free on bail. >> it's really interesting you chose that particular statement. i did not intend to kill my girlfriend. i suspect that will play out more and more. robyn curnow, thank you. at the bottom of the hour, we'll talk with a former federal

prosecutor about the pistorius murder case. digging out from more than a foot of case. a massive winter storm spanning 20 states, bringing everything to a halt on streets, highways and in airports. passengers on this united airlines flight had to wait on the tarmac as crews tried to dig them out. and in kansas city, the ice and snow proved to be too much for this downtown bus. the bus skidding into a light pole. jennifer delgado has the forecast. let's start with erin pike live in wichita, kansas, this morning. >> reporter: good morning. it is freezing here this morning. about 14 degrees. a lot colder than yesterday. now, most schools in kansas and missouri are still closed this morning. hundreds of flights were canceled throughout the region yesterday. airports trying to reopen. again, the st. louis airport has canceled dozens flights. struggling a little bit.

where we're at in wichita, 14.2 inches of snow on the ground. the second largest snowfall in wichita's recorded history. believe it or not what they call is the blizzard of oz, a welcome development for many residents. i talked to one yesterday, christin woodburn, here she is. >> it snows so infrequently, we have been in a bad drought, really hot temperatures and no moisture, so we're thrilled to see snow, ice, whatever moisture we can get. >> this is the third straight year of drought here in kansas. and the department of agriculture expects that drought to continue into april. officials say the state needs between 2 and 7 inches of rainfall to ease the drought. they say that, you know, the snow is a welcome development because ten inches or so equals an inch of rainfall, but they still need more. of course, plenty of kansas residents are happy to see snow. you talked to a couple

yesterday. here is brian nelson. >> we don't get a lot of snow. most of the time it's ice and rain and stuff like that. so it's -- everybody forgets about it and how much fun it is. >> reporter: what do you think of the snow? >> i love it clam. >> reporter: why? >> it's so beautiful and you get to sled. this is our first time sledding the whole entire year. >> reporter: it's still very icy, so people need to be warned to be careful when driving around the state. i think we'll see a lot more sledding today. >> great. a little bit of moisture they need, of course, because they had the drought. thank you, erin. this system is enormous. millions of americans are dealing with storm warnings, watches, or advisories. let's get to jennifer delgado, who is tracking the system for us. good morning. >> reporter: this is what is left of the big storm system that brought almost 18 inches of snowfall through parts of kansas and you can see the snow in the northern part, affecting parts

of minnesota, chicago, and the south. dealing with rain, a wintry mix coming down through parts of west virginia and ohio. a lot of the wintry stuff will be coming to an end later on this morning when temperatures warm up, we're talking about locations like chicago, potentially getting 3.5 inches of snowfall. desperately needed. also in a drought and hoping for some snow. now, down toward the southern part of the u.s. a different story. rain and a lot of rain, i'm telling you, thundering all night long, and dealing with a lot of lightning in some parts. this is i big mess in the south. in some locations, anywhere between 4 and 6 inches of rainfall. this will last all the way through tuesday. a wider view. ridge of high pressure building through parts of u.s. in the central region, where snow came down. temperatures running 10 to 15 degrees below average, sunny in

the southwest. see highs for today. 28 in kansas city. 30s in the northeast. speaking of the northeast, you will see snow working into parts like new hampshire and maine and into massachusetts. we could see a foot or more in higher elevations that starts on saturday. >> all right. jennifer delgado, thank you. new developments about the health of hugo chavez. a government spokesman says chavez is being treated for what is called a respiratory insufficiency. he returned to venezuela on tuesday. the type of cancer he is battling has not been revealed. police on the hunt for a gunman that killed three people. it involved a crash with a maserati and taxi on the strip. among the dead? a rapper known as kenny clutch.

has mass rthe taxi driver, mich bolden, his brother, fighting back tears, says whoever did this needs to pay. >> my life's mission would be to see them punished and brought to justice for what they did. >> bolden had moved to las vegas about a year ago to find work. drew peterson's defense team vowing to appeal the 38-year prison sentence he was just handed. the time he faces for the 2004 murder of his third wife, kathleen savio. the defense says savio's death was an accident. >> i don't think there is anybody who has any doubt in this universe that we proved beyond all doubt that kathleen savio was murdered. accident is off the table. >> that was initially ruled an

accident. but the case was reopened in 2008 after peterson 'fourth wife, stacy, disappeared. stacy peterson is still missing. yesterday, peterson screamed out in court i did not kill kathleen right before his sister. savio's sister shouted right back, yes, you did, you liar. turkish police are searching for a man identified only as ziyat. he may be in the southern province. the body of sierra, a new york mother on a solar vacation was found near ancient stonewalls in istanbul. and smithfield is recalling sausage package. gwaltney mild pork sausage rolls were sold in 11 states and washington, d.c. on the cusp of nascar

history. danica patrick poised to do something no other woman has done on the track at daytona. we'll talk to someone who might know what that feels like, coming up. the real-life story that inspired the oscar nominated "argo." jimmy carter setting the record straight for the history books on a cnn exclusive. [ male announcer ] how about v8 v-fusion. a full serving of vegetables, a full serving of fruit. but what you taste is the fruit. so even you... could've had a v8. but what you taste new griddle-melts to yourime usual breakfast sandwich. a lot more flavor. [ anouncer ] ihop's new griddle melts... made fresh and hot! hand crafted just for you. it's like a sexy sandwich. [ anouncer ] compare new griddle melts yourself. just $4.99. it's an epic breakfast sandwich.

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welcome back to "early start." gentlemen, and lady, start your engines. history will be made when danica patrick becomes the first woman to start at the head of the pack in the pole position at the d daytona 500. >> and we have one of the few women to know what that feels like. you have raced in the daytona 500. what does this mean for danica, having this pole position? >> oh, it is definitely history in the making. just the fact that it took -- janet guthrie, the first woman to run in the daytona 500. 22 years later when i ran in the

daytona, and 11 more for danica to run in the daytona 500. but no one has ever had the pole position, fastest qualifier, daytona 500 is the super bowl and she is the quarterback. >> this won't really give her the edge. a pole winner hasn't won since 2000. does this really give her an advantage? >> not really. daytona is a track where you have to have partners, drafting partners and your car aerodynamics, making the right moves at the right time. but, still, what she's doing for women and little girls that have dreams and women in motorsports, and women in any power position, she's --ith a big deal to be up front and a lot of pressure also. >> so let's talk about her achievements, because this woman gets a lot of criticism. she's a beautiful woman who has capitalized on her beauty, gotten a lot of endorsements, but a lot of people say she

doesn't deserve the attention, because she hadn't won anything of any acclaim. >> i just -- the timing when i drove, i tried to get people to think out of box and why do i also have to be in a uniform with the helmet under my arm that particular pose. why can't be bring in a little more femininity into me. i knew i was a driver, i never questioned that i was driver. i don't think danica does either. the time and year are much more aware of thinking outside the box and taking your appeal and selling it. you are selling a product. but she does perform on the racetrack, she's really still fairly new in nascar so people expect when you are a rarity for things to just happen overnight and she's been racing for many, many years, she has the talent and now she has incredible support behind her, and always has really since going into nascar, but open wheeled racing

she was very competitive. and i think she's definitely the one in the place that can win a nascar race. and a sprint cup race. i think she has the ability to do so. >> shawna, you are a beautiful woman. if you had to do it over, would you capitalize on that like dan y icca has? >> i think i would. in my era. you -- you couldn't really walk around the track with a -- a v-neck shirt on and you had to wear certain golf shirt, usually that was somebody else's that you had to kind of make fit. so i would definitely do that. i think as lock as it's done in a tasteful way which i think that's what they do. i would say absolutely. look athletes, look at female athletes that are gorgeous, beautiful women that are still athletes, that's part of who we

are. >> one last final question. she is racing against her boyfriend. gets a lot of attention about that as well. what do you make of that? how will that play out? >> that's something will be brought up, because they put themselves in that position, but it's -- it's funny. i guess i look at it like does anybody ever ask tony stewart who is dating? we don't really care. it does always come up to where your personal life and emotional state is always brought to the table. and i think that is something to where she's got her head on right and knows mentally she has to keep her head on right. i'm sure she cannot wait to get the helmet on and go racing. >> all right. thank you so much for joining us this morning. we appreciate that. >> per boyfriend's name, ricky stenhouse jr., 28 years old. you are right. the first question they always ask him in an interview is about

his relationship with danica. breaking news. after four days, a decision on bail in the oscar pistorius murder case expected to be announced in just over an hour from now. the judge will announce his ruling 7:30 a.m. eastern time. pistorius charged with premeditated first degree murder in the shooting death of his girlfriend, reeva steenkamp. rescue crews in hawaii will receive a 34-year-old navy s.e.a.l. diver. he got separated during an open water exercise. searchers are using computer models to determine where the current might have taken him. laura bush, not too pleased she is part of a tv campaign for same-sex couples this is a portion of the ad. >> none of us would want to be told we can't marry the person we love. a growing majority of americans believe it's time to allow

marriage. >> couples are committed, they ought to have the same sort of rights that everyone has. >> mrs. bush made those comments in a cnn interview in 2010, but a spokeswoman says the first lady did not approve her inclusion in that particular ad. the respect for marriage coalition has agreed to remove her from the spot. the road to gold. the oscars are this sunday, and the big buzz surround i think your favorite movie argo. it's about the iranian hostage rescue in 1979. president jimmy carter in the white house at the time. in a cnn exclusive. he told piers morgan what he thought about the film's accuracy. >> i will tell you that 90% of the contributions to the ideas and the consummation of the plan was canadian, and the movie gives almost full credit to the american ci as. and with that exception, the

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check out full coverage of what we're expecting from the so-called sequester. big spending cuts. >> thank you, christine. 25 minutes past the hour. word a huge ruling in the oscar pistorius case is coming down within the hour. will he get bail? we'll dig into that, when we come back. it's lots of things. all waking up. connecting to the global phenomenon we call the internet of everything. ♪ it's going to be amazing. and exciting. and maybe, most remarkably, not that far away. we're going to wake the world up. and watch, with eyes wide, as it gets to work. cisco. tomorrow starts here. cisco. how do you keep an older car running like new? you ask a ford customer. when they tell you that you need your oil changed you got to bring it in. if your tires need to be rotated, you have to get that done as well. jackie, tell me why somebody should bring they're car here to the ford dealership for service instead of any one of those other places out there. they are going to take care of my car

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cnn crews right now at the courthouse. will a judge free olympic icon and accused murderer oscar pistorius on bail? you will hear the ruling live from court. and a huge storm still pummelling parts of the midwest. national guard troops sent to look for stranded passengers. hair raising rescue for three paratroopers. they got hung up in towering trees. welcome to "early start." i'm christine romans for john berman today. >> friday, february 22nd. 30 minutes past the hour in one hour from now, we should find out if oscar pistorius will walk out of court today, or will he stay locked up as he awaits trial on murder charges. day four of a contentious bail hearing that has seemed more like an actual trial. court is adjourned as we wait for the magistrate's ruling. allison leotta joining us to talk about that. i want to start with the

dramatic development yesterday and that was with the lead investigator, mr. botha. accused of attempted murder. seven charges of attempted murder and then he was removed from the case. will this have any bearing whatsoever on the decision that the judge decides? >> i don't think it will have that much bearing on what the judge decides. he will look whether oscar pistorius is a risk of flight and a danger to the community if left out of jail. the thing with hilton botha actually changes the tenor of the case, but doesn't change the equation in terms of whether oscar pistorius should be let out of jail, pending trial. >> four days of a lot of information that they have been diving into, trying to figure out this bail hearing is that unusual? >> four-day bail hearing is fairly unusual. it has been like a trial within a trial. >> so let's talk about botha's

mistakes and how they perhaps could affect the outcome of the trial. we do know he has been criticized for some things. didn't wear protective clothing at the crime scene. overlooked the bullet in the boy let bowl. he found two boxes of testosterone, but they are saying maybe it was an herbal supplement. did that affect the magistrate's decision? what specifically is he looking at? >> those factors that you listed are a lot more probative and important to what the judge is thinking in terms of is it likely that pistorius deliberately shot this woman as opposed to the thing that's sensational that botha has these charges against him. the little facts are much more on the judge's mind as he sits making a decision now. >> the magistrate is making this decision and there is no jury involved. he has the option to have two additional people weigh in. do they weigh in now during this bail hearing? or is that just when it goes to

trial? >> i'm sorry. can you say that again? >> a little bit different the court system out there. the magistrate is presiding over this and will preside over the trial as well. there is no jury. but he has the option -- and i don't know if you know this or not, the opposite to use two additional people when it goes to trial and is this a single decision by the magistrate now, or does anyone else weigh in on the decision? >> i don't know. i can't comment on the south african judge's ruling, whether he's going to consult with others. >> do you think that all of the trauma surrounding this case will affect the magistrate at all? if it was a jury, i could see that affecting people individually, do you think that because it is just a single judge in this case that it will -- he will react differently to the information coming from all angles? >> he can't help but be affected by the fact there there is a spotlight on this case and so many people are watching it. he will have to go back to

whether he's a risk of flight. whether pistorius is a danger to the community and -- and make that decision. even at this point -- even if he is let go on bail, i think the prosecution has scored some points in that they have forced pistorius to put this affidavit on the table and he's locked into the story and even if he's let go on bail, the prosecutors have something that most prosecutors don't have the luxury of having, which is knowing what the defendant's story is going to be as they prepare over the next few months for the trial. >> interesting you mentioned that. they had the option to put pistorius on the stand, right? or submit the affidavit. is it unusual that they chose to submit the affidavit? >> no, much more conservative and a smarter move for the defense to submit the affidavit. they can craft it, the lawyers can help him decide exactly what to say, how to say it, and you don't have the surprises that might come when you put the live witness on the stand. definitely the right move on their part. >> all right. allison leotta, former federal

prosecutor and author of law of attraction, thank you for joining thus morning. we appreciate it. >> thank you. >> tonight at 10:00 eastern, on "ac 360," a special, "blade runner: murder or mistake." much of the midwest shoveling and shivering after a fierce snowstorm blanketed the region. covering parts of kansas, missouri, and indiana. cancelling flights and causing a mess on highways. >> we saw a car that had hit a tree and so i put on my blinkers and was going to pull off to the side of the road to make sure nobody was injured, and the gentleman in front of me, due to the ice, hit me from behind. >> she's not the only one who had trouble. take a look at this kansas city bus, trying to negotiate a left turn on a snow-covered street and took out a light pole. the system has millions of americans dealing with storm warnings, watches and advisories. jennifer delgado tracking it

from the cnn weather center in atlanta. good morning. good morning. we're seeing delays for chicago. due to that snow that's departing and for kansas city, you are, of course, still closed. no word yet on when it's going to reopen. they are working hard at it. this is what's left from the storm system yesterday. you see the snow, the rain, and wintry mix. west virginia into ohio. it will change over to all rain by noon. and we are not expecting much for snow or ice accumulation. the rain will be piling up. we're talking flood warnings and watches in place across areas, including louisiana, all the way up toward south carolina. and some of the locations, we'll see about 3 inches of rain today and then the rain keeps coming. through tuesday, we could pick up potentially 4 to 6 inches of rainfall. anywhere in red, this is where we'll see heavier amounts, you certainly need to be careful if traveling on the roadways over

the next five days. now, a ridge of high pressure in place across parts of the midwest. you get all of the snow there. the good news, the sun will come out, out to the west, we'll see rain as well as snow in the pacific northwest, and where the rain is going to be, we'll see that potentially moving up toward the northeast and bringing some snow to parts of new england on saturday. some of the locations, they could see a foot or more, here are the temperatures out there. a lot of 20s, 30s, 50s, you want a 70, go to houston. >> thank you, jennifer delgado. a lot there. 37 minutes past the hour. some of the stories trending on cnn.com. an autopsy done on the body found decomposing in a water tank on the roof of an l.a. hotel, but it could be weeks before police know how 21-year-old elissa lamb or how her body ended up in that tank. police are treating the death as suspicious. one clue? security video from the last day lamb was seen. it shows her in the hotel

elevator, pushing buttons and peeking out the door as if she's hiding or maybe even looking for someone. people at the hotel were using water from the tank nearly three weeks before the body was found. the water pressure changed and they went looking and that's what they found. >> also trending, three army paratroopers rescued from tree tops. high winds blew them off course during a training exercise in washington state. tangled in the trees. no one was hurt. be careful what you say to your kids. they may take you literally. this boston, massachusetts, woman was trying to get her son to go to bed wednesday night when he threw a temper tantrum. >> he got mad at me and said you're mean, i'm going to call the cops. and i said go ahead, call the cops. >> yep, that's exactly what he did. when the 911 operator answered, the little guy hung up. so the dispatcher called back.

>> hello. >> hi, this is 911. somebody just called from there. >> yeah, it was my son. my 10-year-old son. >> so the 911 operator sent an officer to the home, just to be sure that everyone there was okay. when he got there, danny had no issue with going to bed. he hid under the covers and was too scared to come out. ten years old. i'm surprised he picked up the phone and call 911. >> when mom says go to bed, it's time to go to bed. and the tip from a former mentor that led cops to accused killer christopher dorner, coming up. and imagine blasting off on a round trip to mars. the effort under way to make that happen. cnn at the oscar pistorius courthouse, ready to give you live coverage with the decision on bail, due within the hour. we'll be right back.

soledad o'brien joins us with a look at what's ahead on "starting point." >> we are expecting to find out whether oscar pistorius will be granted bail or not. right now, the court is adjourned. we'll bring that you decision when it comes down, we expect to see that at 7:30 eastern time. cars stranded on major roadways, flights grounded. where the major massive winter storm is headed and a look back at what -- thank you, zoraida, you are making me cough. the two of us. the mayor of kansas city, missouri, sylvester james, their

town hit very, very hard. he will join us live to talk about that. start your engines, daytona 500 gets under way on sunday. big question is all about danica patrick, makes history or not? we'll talk to kyle petty, former nascar driver and owner and he'll join us to talk about danica patrick. >> she's already made history. >> but the history she wants to make. >> winning, of course. president obama reaching out to congressional leaders with forced budget cuts looming. and the president spoke to house speaker john boehner and michigan mcconnell by phone yesterday. not saying much else. 8 billi$5 billion in cuts beging effect march 1st. political survival must take a back seat to children's survival according to the vice president. spoke at a conference on gun

control in danbury, ten miles from the scene of the sandy hook elementary massacre. and moral price to play for inaction. >> people say and you read, people write about the political risk and why they are unacceptable to take on. i say it's unacceptable not to take these on. it's simply unacceptable. >> the prvice president went ono say no american should be scared about tougher gun control laws. and the woman who trained christopher dorner gave the hint. she had a feeling that dorner killed a police captain's daughter and fiancee. something told her it was payback after he was fired. dorner eventually was killed after a shoot-out and fire in big bear, california. interesting in exploring

mars up close? you might get your chance, but not until 2018 at least. next week, a nonprofit called the inspiration mars foundation, is expected to announce a round-trip flight to mars. the leader of the group is dennis tito, who spent 20 million to travel to the international space station in 2001. >> would you go? jimmy carter is a proud grandfather because his grandson, james carter had a role in uncover ring the infamous tape. >> where mitt romney told americans that are 47% are dependent on government and will vote for barack obama no matter what. remember that tape? >> do you think that was the pivotal moment of destroying mitt romney's chances? >> i think it was. it was something he could not deny, stuck with him the rest of the election. and i think it was a major factor.

>> when president obama was in atlanta last week, he thanked james patrick personally. and danica patrick makes history. today's bleacher report live from daytona. how would you like to live in a shipping container? the stories behind these homes, ahead. and the oscar pistorius case, a ruling expected in a little over half an hour. live coverage here on cnn. who do you think i am, quicken loans? ♪ at quicken loans, our amazingly useful mortgage calculator app allows you to quickly calculate your mortgage payment based on today's incredibly low interest rates... right from your iphone or android smartphone. one more way quicken loans is engineered to amaze. ♪ ♪

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welcome back to "early start." we're following breaking news. at 7:30 eastern, we will know whether a south african magistrate will allow oscar pistorius to go free on jail.

we'll bring that to you live. is he charged with the premeditated murder of his girlfriend, reeva steenkamp. his coach says if he gets bail, he expects him to resume training next week. boeing want to get 787 dreamliners back in service as soon as possible. they will meet with the federal aviation administration to go over plans with the problems with batteries that are part of the dreamliner power system. batteries of two of the dream liners caught on fire. one man's shipping container is another man's home. 70 apartments are being built out of these recycled shipping containers. the owner and developer behind the project hopes the trend catches on. >> we brought the two containers in and we bring them together, weld them together and seal them up. it literally took us a day and a

half to put up the buildings that you see here. >> so because they are so cheap and easy to produce, these homes can go up really fast, the developer hopes to expand this rapid housing business online. >> that's interesting. >> but bad weather and tornadoes and winds, i don't know. after two qualifying races the field for the daytona 500 is set. the objective for danica patrick yesterday, she didn't the didn't want to crash. >> joe carter, you have the plum assignment, i have to say. >> plush. 85 and sunny here today, 80 tomorrow. don't be too jealous. the plan was simple for team danica patrick. do not wreck. she wanted to go out, compete, get a feel for the track. she wanted to drive cautiously aggressive. she started at the front. quickly went to script, dropped to the back, because by rule if she would have wrecked yesterday, she would have forced to drive from the back row and

the start of the daytona 500, rather than the start of the front row. it would diminish her being the first woman to win the pole. mission was to finish in one piece. >> that last few laps, not a lot of fun to drop back like that. it's the right thing to do. more important to start on the pole for the daytona 500 than get those last few laps of chaos. >> >>. >> that is driver kevyn harvick showing his baby boy where daddy sits. 2-2 in daytona. and won an exhibition race on this track last weekend. the question, can he make it 3-3 come sunday? no driver has ever been able to. kyle busch won the second duel

race. the snow is gone in arizona and so too are the top too golfers in the world. tiger woods and rory mcelroy didn't get it done at the world's most unpredictable golf tournament. tiger did have one bogey, but poor putting did him in. rory mcilroy struggles on 15. blew it, hit the ball over the place. many wanted to see tiger and mcilroy play in the finals, but both are out. >> i played well. hit a lot of good shots out there. as said, you know, i'm -- i didn't make a bogey out there. unfortunately, it's the nature of the format, and, you know, i'm -- i'm not advancing. >> for all of your entertainment sports news, go to bleacherreport.com. saturday night, the nationwide race and all of the eyes in the

world will be on danica patrick for the big race. it is going to be a beautiful weekend at daytona. last weekend, weather a big problem. but this weekend, 80 degrees and sunny. i might have just jinxed us. >> be sure to enjoy it. thank you very much. 54 minutes past the hour. the olympic icon and his model girlfriend and the case cap t e captivating the world. >> hear it first live on "starting point." "early start" back after the break. y, my son brock and his whole team will be our new senior social media strategists. any questions? since we make radiator valves wouldn't it be better if we just let fedex help us to expand to new markets? hmm gotta admit that's better than a few "likes." i don't have the door code. who's that? he won a contest online to be ceo for the day. how am i supposed to run a business here without an office?! [ male announcer ] fast, reliable deliveries worldwide. fedex.

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start." >> "starting point" with soledad o'brien starts right now. welcome, everybody. starting point this morning, 30 minutes away from the breaking news where accused killer oscar pistorius will find out if he will go free on bail. a judge has to decide if he will go free on bail on that sensational murder case. we'll bring it to you at 7:30 a.m. eastern. we are joined by jeffrey toobin, andrew neveling, and ted simon who worked on the amanda knox case will join us as well. and the monster winter storm wreaking havoc across 20 states. the national guard looking for stranded motorists stuck on major highways and wreaking havoc on roads and airports. the blizzard is not done yet. the search is on for a killer hunted a wild vegas chase and shoot-out. we're hearing more about the